The Sub-Saharan African country of Ghana is growing at a rapid pace. The construction industry is striving to keep up with the increasing demand for housing and commercial and industrial space while simultaneously protecting the physical environment and social well-being of the country – a challenge becoming known in the industry as ‘sustainable construction.’ This paper proposes a strategic approach to manage these twin challenges, consisting of two parts: a building rating system and a participatory method called multi-stakeholder dialogue. The combination rating system and MSD process was presented to the industry to determine its potential effectiveness in assisting the industry to move towards sustainability. The industry’s response indicates that the proposal could be of value to the industry, with certain noted limitations. This paper describes the rating system-MSD proposal, the industry’s response, and implications for the construction industry in Ghana moving forward

The purpose of this study is to explore the role of knowledge management (KM) in integrating sustainability into business strategy in companies applying the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD).Corporations have the potential to be key players in moving society towards sustainability, but they lack clear definitions and guidelines around strategic sustainable development (SSD). The authors focus on the benefits of KM in organisations applying the FSSD, which offers general strategic guidelines, but does not refer to the complexity of managing the new sustainability knowledge.This study first examines the scientific literature around KM and FSSD and compares it with the results of expert interviews to develop a State of the Art Model of KM for SSD. Then the model is compared to current practices of corporations applying the FSSD and the gap is examined.The results of the analysis show that the concept of KM is widely discussed in the literature, yet it does not have much presence in the business world. The value of knowledge is recognised, but KM is not much used and no structured practices were identified. It was concluded that companies would benefit from a strategic KM system when integrating sustainability.

This research proposes a socially sustainable impact sourcing model (SSISM), pertinent to the field of socially responsible outsourcing and offers recommendations for integrating immigrants in Sweden by using this model. The model brings businesses, communities and people together to create benefits for all stakeholders in a sustainable way.

Sweden has a long history of accepting immigrants, yet, has a comparably low success rate of integrating non-Swedish people into society. If SSISM is applied in Sweden, there is a potential for businesses to save money, for challenges like the integration problem to be mitigated, and for communities to benefit from an increased tax base as well as building stronger, more diverse communities.

The universal model for SSISM was developed through the analysis of existing practices and the use of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), a sustainability planning tool. The research process included informal interviews with businesses, communities and government agencies, formal interviews with businesses, and a survey with immigrants. The interviews and survey helped maintain relevance to the Swedish context and identified potential obstacles and enablers for implementation. From the results, recommendations on how to best apply the model for integrating immigrants into Sweden were developed in the discussion.

While extensive communication around the sustainability challenges have lead to increased awareness, the expected behavior change correspondent to that level of awareness has not been observed. After decades of information-based sustainability communication the research community recognizes values as important drivers of peoples behavior. Consequently, communication needs to be designed intentionally, so as to implement the change necessary in order to shift society to a sustainable level where the global community lives within the planetary boundaries. This thesis was inspired by this call from the field of sustainability science for a new narrative around sustainability that would inspire more radical change. In the first step we used the European Citizens ́ Initiative for an Unconditional Basic Income (EUBI) as a case study, to analyze what types of values the current narrative of the EUBI speaks to and compare that with the values of the population of the European Union. In the second step our research focused on what types of Guidelines could be developed so as to intentionally design a values-oriented narrative. We identified three ways in which the narrative of EUBI is misaligned with the values of the population of the European Union. We identified as well 13 Guidelines for designing a values-oriented narrative that could contribute in moving society strategically towards sustainability. When utilizing the Guidelines as a tool in crafting a potentially more successful narrative as part of a new sustainability communication, the contribution to SSD may be to strategically overcome the above described misalignment and inspiring more action to bridge the gap.

One of the reasons, why it is difficult to implement the concept of social sustainability into organizations, is its inherent complexity and vagueness. The new Social Sustainability Principles (SSPs) within the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) offer a clear definition of success for the social system. This study aims to put the new SSPs into an organizational context. It investigates how people-related issues within organizations, discussed in six organizational and management journals, published between 2009 and 2014, are related to the SSPs. One fourth of the 3305 reviewed articles were found to relate to social sustainability. Most of the articles focused on improving performance through aspects related to social sustainability. The articles mainly discussed aspects related to barriers to the SSPs as problems, solutions or positive aspects that could remove barriers to the SSPs. The results show that for organizational research to be able to support organizations moving towards social sustainability, there is a need for a clear definition of success as well as a frame that takes the whole social system into consideration. The FSSD and the SSPs could help to structure the diverse topics, put research problems in a bigger context and discern relevant problems and solutions.

There is growing consensus that humanity is being confronted with a sustainability challenge of which the severity has never been known to modern man. This pressing situation is demanding solutions and alternatives to change the path of society. At the community level, grassroots movements have emerged around the world as a way of striving to develop local sustainability. This research studies the Transition Movement, a popular, global community-based movement. The aim of this study is to evaluate if a Transition Initiative is effective in moving a local community towards sustainability. The definition of sustainability used in the research is taken from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) which comprises of eight sustainability principles (SPs); three ecological SPs and five social SPs. To this end, an analytical-evaluative case study of a single Transition Initiative was conducted in which semi-structured interviews, a survey and document analysis were all use as sources of information. The researchers chose a small-scale Transition Initiative, conducting the case study on the village of Ungersheim, France. The results revealed that the actions of Transition are contributing to progressing Ungersheim towards sustainability, both socially and ecologically. The research also revealed how the Transition is being done and what critical factors allowed for success. The study finally deduces a set of strategic guidelines that may be used for further longitudinal research cross-evaluating Ungersheim to other small-scale community transitions.

Major global problems, manifested by climate change and social inequality, reinforce the need for a societal shift towards sustainable practices. This transition requires new approaches in the future design of society. The current energy system, based on fossil fuels and centralized infrastructure is a key contributor to many of the socio-ecological issues related to the sustainability challenge. The intent of this research is to examine renewable energy cooperatives as an alternative to minimize the negative impacts of the current energy system. Using a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach with a Resilience Attribute Framework, this research explored the presence of resilience attributes (Trust, Diversity, Learning and Self-organization) and sustainability behavior in renewable energy cooperatives. The research then explored, through interview and surveys, the perceived impacts that these cooperatives had on the resilience and sustainability behavior of the wider community. Findings showed that energy cooperatives displayed high levels of the resilience through the attributes of: - Trust: due to non-profit status, ownership structure, localisation and shared values - Diversity: due to member and service diversity - Learning: through collaboration, diverse member knowledge and participation - Self-organization: due to cooperative development, leadership and outcomes (infrastructure and energy knowledge). This study showed that renewable energy cooperatives have numerous impacts on their community however; there were no significant evidence to suggest energy cooperatives transferred their high levels of social resilience to the community.

Humanity is facing highly complex challenges at a global scale. A new sort of conscious sustainability changemakers is needed to face the sustainability challenge. However the mainstream entrepreneurship education tends to focus on business as usual skills, with a significant lack of comprehensive understanding of the whole system and the inner work needed to face the mental barriers to become sustainability changemakers. While the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development was used as a structured approach to the topic, the research design was based on a dynamic research interactive model. Theory U guided the data gathering process that included participatory observation, dialogues with the organizers and participants through the seven progressive schools in Europe. The research aims to identify the common assumptions that guide the design of leading edge learning programs for sustainability changemakers. Building on the findings, the authors present a prototype of a learning tool in a form of self-reflection card game with the intention of helping the next generation of changemakers in their learning journey towards sustainability. Conclusions detail specific guidelines to design a learning program of changemakers towards sustainability.

Currently society is facing a set of interconnected challenges, known collectively as the Sustainability Challenge, which are systematically increasing socio-ecological unsustainability on a scale never experienced before.

In order to address the Sustainability Challenge, Social Labs provide an approach that is systemic, participatory and emergent, enabling solutions that are responsive to the dynamic nature of those interconnected challenges.

Our research explores how a specific lab - U.Lab - can be re-designed in order to move society strategically toward a sustainable future. We use the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, designed to help practitioners to facilitate society’s transition towards sustainable development, as well as concepts of strategic sustainable development, which support s shift from unsustainable systems, structures and practices towards sustainable ones in a strategic way.

Our research follows Design Research Methodology (DRM). DRM aims for the formulation, validation and development of theories and models in the field of design.

U.Lab’s experiential response to the Sustainability Challenge inspires participants to question paradigms of thought and societal norms. However, U.Lab is still an emerging social technology and lacks boundary conditions and a scientific basis for understanding our current reality and creating the solutions that will lead society systematically towards a sustainable future.

In our study we provide a case study of implementing sustainability aspects into the product development process of a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME). The objective of the study is to, together with the company, co-create a product development process that represents a step towards sustainability. For this a tool called the Method for Sustainable Product Development (MSPD) is used. The methodology of the study includes mapping the current product development process in the organization, adapting the MSPD based on criteria set by the organization, implementing the MSPD into the product development process of the organization in a co-creative way and finally applying the new product development process to a test case within the organization. Various participatory action techniques including workshops and interviews are used to ensure co-creation of the results. It was found that raising questions on sustainability aspects in product development can be seen as a first step of an organizational move towards sustainability. With this the MSPD worked as intended. The practical application showed that further steps were necessary. Particularly additional education in sustainability and theinvolvement of entities in the organization external to the product development process were found as crucial next steps.

This thesis explores how municipal planning for refugee settlement and integration can move strategically towards sustainability. A conceptual framework was developed by integrating the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development with best practices and recommendations identified in the literature. A case study was conducted in Karlskrona, Sweden, to investigate how a municipality plans to settle and integrate a large and unprecedented influx of refugees, and to assess how the constructed Framework can assist in planning. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the Karlskrona Municipality were conducted. Keywords from the constructed Framework were used as a priori codes, to analyze the data obtained in the interviews. As perceived in our case study there is no full understanding of the importance of reaching Social Sustainability and all the essential aspects needed to achieve it.

Society today faces unprecedented social and environmental challenges that are both complex in nature and require immediate and severe action. The financial system is a complex system that has an important impact on the sustainable development of society. Currently, however, the role of the finance system in sustainability is ambivalent, as it invests both in the causes of the sustainability challenge as well as its potential solutions. As the finance system is a complex system collaboration is needed to make change possible. Relationships are a key component of collaboration, and this research looks closer at how relationship building can enable effective collaboration aimed at finance systems change. Research draws on Literature, and a case study of the Finance Innovation Lab including 19 qualitative interviews. In order to build collaborative relationships for a sustainable finance system the results point to: 1) the importance of the individual being present in the initiative rather than the organization they represent, and the importance of connecting on personal level; 2) the complexity of relationship building, with different processes and key elements interrelating; and 3) collaborative relationships being only one part of systemic transformation, requiring also a diversity of people and a clear structure and common strategy to be effective in achieving their goals.

This paper presents a prescriptive approach toward the integration of value and sustainability models in an automated decision support environment enabled by machine learning (ML). The approach allows the concurrent multidimensional analysis of design cases complementing mechanical simulation results with value and sustainability assessment. ML allows to deal with both qualitative and quantitative data and to create surrogate models for quicker design space exploration. The approach has been developed and preliminary implemented in collaboration with a major aerospace sub-system manufacturer.

In the aerospace industry, systems engineering practices have been exercised for years, as a way to turn high-level design objectives into concrete targets on system functionality (e.g. range, noise, and reliability). More difficult is to decompose and clarify sustainability implications in the same way and to compare them against performance-related capabilities already during preliminary design. This article addresses the problem of bringing the important—yet typically high level and complex—sustainability aspects into engineering practices. It proposes a novel integrated model-based method that provides a consistent way of addressing the well-known lack of generic and integrated ways of clarifying both cost and value consequences of sustainability in early phases. It further presents the development and implementation of such approach in two separate case studies conducted in collaboration with a major aero-engine sub-system manufacturer. The first case concerns the assessment of alternative business configurations to maintain scarce materials in closed loops, while the second one concerns the production technology of an aero-engine component. Eventually, this article highlights the learning generated by the development and implementation of these approaches and discusses opportunities for further development of model-based support.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a well-known and comprehensive framework for sustainable development. However due to the overlapping and interrelated nature of the goals, action towards one goal can positively or negatively contribute to another.Social innovation hubs including Impact Hub and Centre for Social Innovation use the SDGs to support social entrepreneurs to have a positive impact. Document analysis and interviews with 15 practitioners from these hubs informed the research on how the organizations perceive and contribute to sustainability, how they integrate the SDGs, and the challenges and benefits with using the SDGs. Based on that, this research has developed five recommendations for social innovation hubs to: 1) Define Sustainability; 2) Enhance Visioning; 3) Design co-creative programs; 4) Define Impact;and 5) Communicate Impact. While other elements of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) could be used to complement the SDGs, the Sustainability Principles (SPs) of the FSSD are recommended as a definition for sustainability.

Adaptive capacity is essential for organisations to be able to adapt to the sustainability challenge, and change its course. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is an interpersonal communication tool that enables a user to move from a language of judgements to a language of needs by using 4 steps: observation, feelings, needs, and request. As communication is essential to the adaptive capacity of a social system, this thesis explores the question: How does Nonviolent Communication support the adaptive capacity of organisations? Through a mixed methods approach (semi-structured interviews and surveys with NVC trainers, organisational representatives and employees), the effects of NVC on communication in 3 sample organisations in the Netherlands (a school, NGO and research institute), is explored. Quantitative survey results show that NVC has a positive to very positive effect on common organisational communication dynamics. Qualitative data supports this finding and shows that NVC brings positive effects of increased understanding, listening, and progress in work related issues through an increased awareness of one’s own and other’s needs and feelings. When linking these results to adaptive capacity of organisations, it is concluded that NVC directly supports the adaptive capacity elements of trust, diversity and learning, and indirectly supports common meaning and self-organisation.

Electric buses are growing in numbers in Sweden, which contributes to the development of a fossil fuel free society and a reduction of emissions. Earlier studies of bus systems have identified a need to further investigate societal costs, total cost of ownership, energy use on a yearly basis to account for seasonal variations, and noise during acceleration. Addressing those needs was the purpose of this study.

Investigations were made in five cities in Sweden that have recently implemented different electric buses in their respective public transport system. Based on results from these investigations and earlier studies, updated and new calculations were made for electric buses on route 1 in Karlskrona, as a representative example. It was found that there were significant savings in societal costs and total cost of ownership when compared to diesel and biogas powered buses, mainly due to decreased noise, no emissions in the use phase, and decreased energy use.

Electric vehicles can play an important role in a future sustainable road transport system and many Swedish politicians would like to see them implemented faster. This is likely desirable to reach the target of a fossil independent vehicle fleet in Sweden by 2030 and a greenhouse gas neutral Swedish society no later than 2050. However, to reach both these targets, and certainly to support the full scope of sustainability, it is important to consider the whole life-cycle of the vehicles and also the interaction between the transport sector and other sectors. So far, there are no plans for transitions towards a sustainable transport system applying a sufficiently wide systems perspective, in Sweden or elsewhere. This implies a great risk for sub-optimizations.

The overall aim of this work is to elaborate methodological support for development of sustainable personal road transport systems that is informed by a strategic sustainable development perspective.

The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) is used as a foundation for the work to ensure a sufficiently wide systems perspective and coordinated collaboration across disciplines and sectors, both in the research and application. Maxwell’s Qualitative Research Design and the Design Research Methodology are used as overall guides for the research approach. Specific research methods and techniques include literature studies, action research seminars, interviews, and measurements of energy use, costs, and noise. Moreover, a case study on the conditions for a breakthrough for vehicles in southeast Sweden has been used as a test and development platform.

Specific results include a preliminary vision for electrical vehicles in southeast Sweden, framed by the principled sustainability definition of the FSSD, an assessment of the current reality in relation to that vision, and proposed solutions to bridge the gap, organized into a preliminary roadmap. The studies show that electric vehicles have several sustainability advantages even when their whole life-cycle is considered, provided that they are charged with electricity from new renewable sources. Electrical vehicles also imply a low total cost of ownership and could promote new local ‘green jobs’ under certain conditions. Particularly promising results are seen for electric buses in public transport. As a general result, partly based on the experiences from the specific case, a generic community planning process model is proposed and its usefulness for sustainable transport system development is discussed.

The strategic sustainable development perspective of this thesis broadens the analysis beyond the more common focus on climate change issues and reduces the risk of sub-optimizations in community and transport system development. The generic support for multi-stakeholder collaboration could potentially also promote a more participatory democratic approach to community development, grounded in a scientific foundation. Future research will explore specific decision support systems for sustainable transport development based on the generic planning process model.

The aim of this thesis was to explore if, and then how, electric cars and buses can contribute to sustainable personal mobility. Electric vehicles have increasingly been seen as a potential sustainable solution for the transport sector due to their high energy efficiency, close to zero emissions in the use phase, and the possibility to be powered by electricity from renewable resources. However, there are concerns about future scarcity of resources (e.g. lithium and cobalt for batteries), vehicle range, costs, high energy use in the production of batteries, as well as insufficient scientific support for how electric vehicles could be a part of a transition towards sustainability regarding personal mobility.

The challenges for a fast transition towards sustainability are large and many. The transport sector is not contributing to such development, mainly due to emissions, use of fossil energy, and use of materials mined and recycled under unacceptable conditions. Furthermore, existing societal goals (e.g. fossil-fuel independent vehicle fleet by 2030 in Sweden, UN Agenda 2030, and the Paris agreement) are insufficient for sustainability and are not complemented by concrete plans or an approach for how to engage stakeholders and achieve coordinated actions for sustainability. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development includes a principled definition of sustainability that is necessary and sufficient for sustainability and procedural support for collaborative innovation for a strategic transition to fulfillment of that definition, which is why it has been used as an overarching methodology in this thesis.

The research verified through several studies conditions for how electric vehicles can play a vital role in a strategic transition of personal mobility towards sustainability. Through stakeholder collaboration (e.g. interviews and workshops), a vision for sustainable transport with a focus on electric vehicles and an initial development plan towards that vision were designed. Several life cycle focused studies investigated (through calculations and data collection from literature, life cycle databases, interviews and workshops) about environmental and social impacts and costs for electric cars and buses. The stakeholder collaboration, combined with conceptual modelling, also resulted in models for generic support for multi-stakeholder collaboration and planning for strategic sustainable development of transport systems and communities, and for how to include electric buses in the procurement model of public transport.

The strategic sustainable development perspective of this thesis broadens the analysis beyond the more common focus on climate change issues and should be able to reduce the risk of sub-optimizations in community and transport system development when applied in that context. The generic support for multi-stakeholder collaboration could potentially also promote a more participatory democratic approach to community development, grounded in a scientific foundation.

Earlier studies have mainly focused on technology, economy and advantages of electric buses, and they have largely shown that electric buses could be one of the solutions for sustainable public transport. Despite this, the present procurement process for public transport in Sweden is not suitable for including support systems for electric buses. This study was aimed to find a stakeholder collaboration model that would allow electric bus systems to be more effectively included in the procurement process for public transport. The results were achieved by several multi-stakeholder collaboration seminars and meetings that included representatives from regional public transport authorities, bus operators, bus manufacturers, energy companies, municipalities, and experts involved in bus transport. The study primarily developed two stakeholder collaboration models, suggesting that charging infrastructure should be designed separately from the common procurement process. In these models, energy companies, electric grid owners, charging infrastructure operators, regional public transport authorities, and municipalities need to collaborate. The first model is designed for a system that includes chargers at certain locations along a route and/or stakeholders with a low level of experience of electric bus systems, while the second is designed for a system that includes bus charging at the depot and/or stakeholders with a high level of experience of electric bus systems.

From a theoretical perspective, Electric buses can be more sustainable and can be cheaper than fossil fuelled buses in city traffic. The authors have not found other studies based on actual urban public transport in Swedish winter climate. Further on, noise measurements from buses for the European market where found old. The aims of this follow-up study was therefore to test and possibly verify in a real-life environment how energy efficient and silent electric buses are, and then conclude on if electric buses are preferable to use in public transport.The Ebusco 2.0 electric bus, fitted with a 311 kWh battery pack, was used and the tests carried out during November 2014 to April 2015 in eight municipalities in the south of Sweden. Six tests took place in urban traffic and two took place in more of a rural traffic setting. The energy use for propulsion was measured via logging of the internal system in the bus and via an external charging meter. The average energy use turned out to be 8 % less (0,96 kWh/km) than assumed in the earlier theoretical study. This rate allows for a 320 km range in public urban traffic. The interior of the bus was kept warm by a diesel heater (biodiesel will probably be used in a future operational traffic situation), which used 0,67 kWh/km in January. This verified that electric buses can be up to 25% cheaper when used in public transport in cities for about eight years. The noise was found to be lower, primarily during acceleration, than for buses with combustion engines in urban bus traffic. According to our surveys, most passengers and drivers appreciated the silent and comfortable ride and preferred electric buses rather than combustion engine buses. Bus operators and passenger transport executives were also positive to start using electric buses for public transport. The operators did however point out that procurement processes need to account for eventual risks regarding this new technology, along with personnel education. The study revealed that it is possible to establish a charging infrastructure for almost all studied bus lines. However, design of a charging infrastructure for each municipality requires further investigations, including electric grid capacity analysis, smart location of charging points, and tailored schedules to allow fast charging. In conclusion, electric buses proved to be a preferable alternative for all stakeholders involved in public bus transport in the studied municipalities. However, in order to electric buses to be a prominent support for sustainable development, they need to be charged either by stand-alone units or via an expansion of the electric grid, and the electricity should be made from new renewable sources.

Electric vehicles seem to offer a great potential for sustainable transport development. The Swedish pioneer project GreenCharge Southeast is designed as a cooperative action research approach that aims to explore a roadmap for a fossil-free transport system by 2030 with a focus on electric vehicles. In the first paper of this tandem publication, the authors propose a new generic process model embedding the Framework of Strategic Sustainable Development. The purpose of applying it in an action-research mode as described in this paper was twofold: (i) to develop a vision for sustainable regional transport and a coarse roadmap towards that vision, and, while doing so, (ii) get additional empirical experiences to inform the development of the new generic process model. Experts from many sectors and organizations involved in the GreenCharge project provided vital information and reviewed all planning perspectives presented in Paper 1 in two sequential multi-stakeholder seminars. The results include a sustainable vision for electric vehicle systems in southeast Sweden within a sustainable regional transport system within a sustainable global society, as well as an initial development plan towards such a vision for the transport sector. The vision is framed by the universal sustainability principles, and the development plan is informed by the strategic guidelines, of the above-mentioned framework. Among other things, the vision and plan imply a shift to renewable energy and a more optimized use of areas and thus a new type of spatial planning. For example, the vision and plan implies a lower built-in demand for transport, more integrated traffic modes, and more multi-functional use of areas for energy and transport infrastructures, for example. Some inherent benefits of electric vehicles are highlighted in the vision and plan, including near-zero local emissions and flexibility as regards primary energy sources. The vision and plan also imply improved governance for more effective cross-sector collaboration to ensure coor- dinated development within the transport sector and between the transportation sector and other relevant sectors. Meanwhile, the new generic process model was refined and is ready to be applied and further tested in the GreenCharge project and in other projects within the transport sector as well as other sectors. The study confirmed that the new generic process model suggested in support of sus- tainable transport system and community development is helpful for giving diverse stakeholders, with various specialties and perspectives, a way of working that is goal-oriented and builds on effective, iterative learning loops and co-creation.

Ambitions within the EU for moving towards sustainable transport include major emission reductions for fossil fuel road vehicles, especially for buses, trucks, and cars. The electric driveline seems to be an attractive solution for such development. This study first applied the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development to compare sustainability effects of today’s fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles that have batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. The study then addressed a scenario were electric vehicles might be in majority in Europe by 2050. The methodology called Strategic Lifecycle Assessment was first used, were each life cycle phase was assessed for violations against sustainability principles. This indicates where further analysis could be done in order to quantify the magnitude of each violation, and later to create alternative strategies and actions that lead towards sustainability. A Life Cycle Assessment of combustion engine cars, plug-in hybrid cars, battery electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars was then conducted to compare and quantify environmental impacts. The authors found major violations of sustainability principles like use of fossil fuels, which contribute to the increase of emission related impacts such as climate change, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and particulate matters. Other violations were found, such as use of scarce materials for batteries and fuel cells, and also for most life cycle phases for all vehicles when using fossil fuel vehicles for mining, production and transport. Still, the studied current battery and hydrogen fuel cell cars have less severe violations than fossil fuel cars. The life cycle assessment revealed that fossil fuel cars have overall considerably higher environmental impacts compared to electric cars as long as the latter are powered by renewable electricity. By 2050, there will likely be even more sustainable alternatives than the studied electric vehicles when the EU electricity mix mainly should stem from renewable sources, batteries should be recycled, fuel cells should be a mature technology for use in vehicles (containing no scarce materials), and electric drivelines should have replaced combustion engines in other sectors. An uncertainty for fuel cells in 2050 is whether the production of hydrogen will have had time to switch to renewable resources. If so, that would contribute even more to a sustainable development. Except for being adopted in the GreenCharge roadmap, the authors suggest that the results can contribute to planning in the upcoming decades for a sustainable increase of EVs in Europe, and potentially serve as an inspiration for other smaller or larger regions. Further studies could map the environmental effects in LCA further, and include other road vehicles to get a more precise perception of how much they could affect sustainable development.

The degradation of the ecological and social systems has largely resulted from human activities that deplete natural resources and undermine human needs in society. Traditional business culture, driven mainly by profit maximization, is a factor that has worsened this sustainability challenge. Social enterprises (SEs) are a form of business that hold the potential to help make the transition towards a sustainable society. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it explores SE contributions to creating a sustainable social system. Second, it examines how SEs exhibit the dimensions of trustworthiness, leading to trusting relationships in society. Social sustainability principles (SSPs) define social sustainability and are drawn from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. They are used as a foundation for identifying SE contributions. The researchers draw on experiences from social entrepreneurs and experts in the field of social entrepreneurship. SEs contribute at two levels: the individual level and the societal level. They break down barriers to the SSPs and provide opportunities to individuals with respect to the five principles. SEs operate based on a culture of impartiality and create opportunities for meaning for individuals in their target groups. They consistently take leaps of faith, believing in the trustworthiness of those who are otherwise deemed untrustworthy.

Maintaining the current course of the global society is threatening the human civilization. The urgency of the situation, understood from empirical research, has caused many researchers to call for more prescriptive research as a necessary supplement, to better support decision making for sustainability. While policymakers need to direct and stimulate sustainable production and consumption through, e.g., legislation and market phenomena such as eco-labelling, business represents a significant proportion of the necessary resources, capabilities and mechanisms for the innovation needed for a transition towards sustainability. However, while businesses more and more realize the self-interest in working proactively with sustainability, there is a desire for better support for how to do this also from this end. Such support needs to consider a significant shift going on in business; that individual businesses tend to no longer compete as autonomous entities, but rather as supply chains. Thus, no company is more sustainable than its supply chain partners. Therefore, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) as a business function, and sustainable procurement as a subset thereof, plays an increasingly pivotal role for sustainable development. The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to sustainable development by studying how three phenomena; eco-labelling, procurement and supply chain management are related to each other and to a strategic sustainability perspective, and to suggest how these phenomena can be integrated with such a perspective to provide better support for decision making and innovation for sustainability. For this purpose, a framework for strategic sustainable development, including a definition of sustainability and generic guidelines to inform stepwise strategic plans towards sustainability, is used as a foundational methodology. The development of new approaches is also based on case studies with eco-labelling and sustainable public procurement bodies, businesses and public institutions. Information is collected by shadowing of criteria development and collaboration processes, interviews and literature studies. While the findings point to a clear rational for all of the phenomena and several strengths in existing schemes and practices, the findings also point to several shortcomings. Sustainability is not defined, and as a result, there is no foundation for strategic and proactive approaches. Furthermore, decisions are not based on considerations of all dimensions of sustainability, the whole life cycle of products, all relevant stakeholders and a long-term perspective. As a result, the full potential of these phenomena for contributing to sustainable development is not utilized. This thesis prescribes enhanced processes for eco-labelling, sustainable procurement and SSCM, and shows how these can support organisations in developing from reacting individually on known sustainability-related problems to acting proactively and collaboratively in supply chains, in a coordinated and economically viable way, on society’s remaining gap to the full scope of ecological and social sustainability.

By 2050, an estimated 6.3 billion people or 66% of the world population will live in cities. Therefore, cities are in a high impact position regarding sustainability. The question is, how do we increase awareness of the sustainability challenge among these populations and gain citywide buy-in and multi-stakeholder collaboration to address this challenge? The Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) at the University of Oregon offers one approach to tackle this issue by matching higher education institutions (HEI’s), with local and regional cities to address their sustainability related needs through publicly engaged scholarship. The objective of this research was to examine how SCYP contributes to strategic sustainable development (SSD). Our research methods included a peer-reviewed literature review, semi-structured interviews, surveys and further document review. Our sources included SCYP co-founders, partner city program managers, strategic sustainable development experts, and municipal planners from around the world. Our research suggests that SCYP creates a subtle paradigm shift towards sustainability among partner city staff and community members while accelerating practical implementation of sustainability related projects. Furthermore, the added layer of SSD concepts can increase the efficacy of this approach and allow the model to embrace a larger systems level perspective over time.

The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive and cohesive description of the most recent version of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), and also to describe and discuss the overall method for developing the FSSD, elaborate on the general rational for and general benefits of a framework of this type, and Validate benefits of the FSSD through examples of its application. The purpose is also to point to pertinent future work. In preparation of this paper, we have reviewed previous publications and other documents related to the FSSD and reflected on the 25-year learning process between scientists and practitioners. We conclude that the FSSD has proven to aid organizations in thoroughly understanding and putting themselves in context of the global sustainability challenge, and to move themselves strategically towards sustainability, i.e., to stepwise reduce their negative impacts on ecological and social systems at large while strengthening the own organization through capturing of innovation opportunities, including new business models, exploration of new markets and winning of new market shares, and through reduced risks and operation costs. Specifically, we conclude that the FSSD aids more effective management of system boundaries and trade-offs, makes it possible to model and assess sustainable potentials for various materials and practices before investments are made, and offers the possibility for more effective collaboration across disciplines and sectors, regions, value-chains and stakeholder groups. We also conclude that the FSSD makes it possible to prevent damages, even from yet unknown problems, and not the least, to guide selection, development and combination of supplementary methods, tools, and other forms of support, which makes it possible to increase their utility for strategic sustainable development. Finally, we have shown that the FSSD is useful for structuring transdisciplinary academic education and research. Several examples of ongoing FSSD related research, as well as ideas for future work, are given. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systematic leadership towards sustainability implies utilization of systems thinking for step-wise approaches to transformative changes towards sustainable societies. This ‘call-for-papers’ (CfPs) for a Special Volume of the Journal of Cleaner Production is focused upon what types of research are needed for us to make the necessary local, regional, national and global changes. This CfPs is for anyone who wishes to address these challenges seriously, that is, to utilize essential aspects of leadership to contribute strategically to the transition towards sustainable societies. To successfully address these challenges, people from different sectors and disciplines must work together in a coordinated and efficient way. We wish to explore the question: What support do such transformative endeavors require and how can science contribute?

Currently, the production, distribution and sale of food negatively impacts ecological and social sustainability, undermining the vital systems on which society depends. Global implications are intensified as one-third of the world’s food is wasted. The purpose of this research is to understand the role of food waste mitigation as a strategic stepping stone to further sustainable development in food systems. A pragmatic qualitative approach and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development were used to analyze this using a systems perspective to identify key focus areas for development. Analysis of the data collected from industry, municipal government and community stakeholders led to the identification of key causes of waste, and drivers of and barriers to food waste reduction. Causal loop diagrams aided in mapping the opportunities for collaboration and potential associated risks between the three aforementioned sectors. Thirteen focus areas were deduced and analyzed using sustainability principles. The interplay of upstream and downstream strategies is discussed in examining ways to pursue focus areas simultaneously to impact the systemic barriers to a sustainable food system including globalized trade, overproduction, and underlying issues of food insecurity.

Purpose: In this paper, we begin to set out language defining sustainablefood systems (SFS) in Canada, through the voices of dietitians, andidentify leverage points where dietitians can affect change.Methods: Dietitians of Canada members were invited to a Delphi Inquiryprocess; questions explored a vision of SFS in Canada, barriers to thatvision, and actions. Results were independently analysed by 2 membersof the research team who used the Framework for Strategic SustainableDevelopment to structure the data.Results: Fifty-eight members participated. The resultant vision describesa future food system in 15 thematic areas of the social and ecologicalsystems. Barriers are described according to how they undermine sustainability.High-leverage actions areas included: (i) facilitating knowledgedevelopment within the profession and public, (ii) influencing organizationalpolicy to support SFS, and (iii) and influencing public policy.Approaches to such action included: (i) facilitating cross-sectoral collaborationand (ii) applying reflexive approaches.Conclusions: This research suggests a multidimensional understandingof food systems sustainability among dietitians. The vision provides somelanguage to describe what dietitians mean by SFS and can be used as acompass point to orient action. Action areas and approaches have thepotential to drive systemic change while avoiding unintendedconsequences.

Purpose: A small but growing body of peer-reviewed research suggests that school gardens can play a role in building community food security (CFS); however, to date little research exploring the role of school gardens in supporting CFS is available. This paper begins to address this gap in the literature. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, single-case study design was used. The focus of this case study was the school food garden at an elementary school in the River Valley, Nova Scotia, school community. Results: Results provide useful information about potential CFS effects of school gardens in addition to the environmental effects on school gardens important to their effectiveness as CFS tools. Findings suggest children gained food-related knowledge, skills, and values that support long-term CFS. A local social and political landscape at the community, provincial, and school board level were key to strengthening this garden's contributions to CFS. Conclusions: We support Dietitians of Canada's nomination of school gardens as an indicator of CFS with theoretical and practical evidence, underscore the importance of a supportive environment, and need for further research in this area. Health professionals and community organizations provide critical support, helping to weave gardens into a greater movement towards building CFS.

The inter-related social and ecological facets of global sustainability imply that the way society develops will impact the environment. Development presents complex, multifaceted challenges. Interventions in the developing world in the form of projects created by the agencies, organizations and agents of the international development community increasingly appreciate and seek to address these challenges. Yet, to do so effectively, interventions need to shift from fragmented, sector-specific approaches based on formal data reports to approaches that anticipate, adapt, transform, and learn. This research aims to complement and support the practical and theoretical knowledge of rural development agents with insights from practitioners using approaches that consider complexity in other fields, in order to explore how development interventions could play a role in moving society toward sustainability. A prototype guide for rural development interventions synthesizes results gathered from interviews with rural development agents within Latin America and learning experience designers into three levels: system, interaction, and personal. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) provides a systems perspective and unifying definition of sustainability. The interaction level presents key recommendations, rationale, and methods for action, and the personal level presents reflection questions. This research hopes to inspire mutual learning between development actors and communities.

Business organisations, given their size, influence, and global impact on finite planetary resources, are the key economic drivers contributing to unsustainable growth. Sustainability Maturity Models (SMMs) were developed as a tool to assist organisations to recognise and incorporate practices identified as pivotal to achieving business transformation. The Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach was used to develop an analytical tool to assess the robustness of two of the aspects of SMMs, specifically structure and process. Interviews with model designers were also conducted. The research team identified key strengths limitations of SMMs.

The analysis revealed that SMMs have strength in starting the conversation with leadership and charting the way ahead for organizations by clearly defining the maturity level success criteria.

These findings confirm the significant potential of SMMs infused by supporting process tools, to be a strong foundation for organisations on their sustainability journeys, aiding overall transformation of businesses. This in turn has the potential to shift the role of businesses in the larger socio-ecological system from being contributors to the sustainability challenge, to becoming active providers of solutions.

The current global economic paradigm, centred on growth, is a significant barrier in the transition towards a sustainable society. Business-as-Usual companies operating within this paradigm are perceived to prosper at the expense of society and environment which is not viable on a finite planet. The need to rethink the purpose of business is inevitable as maximising shareholder value, has been deemed insufficient to create asustainable society.

This study aimed to explore: how business models can be used to create value that supports Strategic Sustainable Development. Previous research proposed that the concept of Business Models for Sustainability helps business place sustainability at the core of all consideration. A qualitative research was chosen for which we employed the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development and combined a literature review with an investigation of three expert groups to answer our research question.

Our findings showed that, compared to other value forms, system value is the most appropriate concept for businesses striving towards sustainable development. Based on our findings, six themes emerged that businesses need to address to accelerate the speed of change towards sustainability. To make a relevant contribution to the intended audience,a prototype has been developed based on our findings.

Deciding between sustainability or prosperity may be a false choice when the phenomena are appropriately defined and considered together (Stiglitz et al. 2009). With reference to existing indicator systems and frameworks, including the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and the Community Capitals Framework (CCF), this research developed three novel indices (SMSI, SMSI+, and CCFI) using a Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD) approach to measure and analyze the correlation between sustainability (SMSI, SMSI+) and prosperity (CCFI) in Swedish municipalities. The spearman rank-order coefficient values were 0.259 and 0.588 for SMSI and CFFI and SMSI+ and CCFI, respectively. Both were significantly correlated with a p-value of 0.05, where SMSI+ and CCFI were 0.329 more correlated than SMSI and CCFI. This showed that an index that more comprehensively considers an SSD approach correlates more with CCFI. Furthermore, only six out of 234 Swedish municipalities ranked in the top 10 percent of both SMSI+ and CCFI, showing that it is difficult to successfully pursue sustainability and prosperity together in practice. Importantly, this research also demonstrates that it is possible to create indices using an SSD approach while outlining the methods for how to do so.

The human social system is facing complex social issues and (new) initiatives coming from different social actors are born to try to tackle these complex social issues. Social innovation is the field where these initiatives function, so it is also a complex field to identify and frame. Thus a new theory, the Transformative Social Innovation Theory (TSI), was developed in order to frame and bring more clarification on the social innovation field to contribute to societal transition and transformation. The five TSI tools were developed from the TSI theory and they are training tools. All the TSI tools aim to (dis)empower the social innovation initiatives, actors and networks in the process of transformative social innovation. Transformative Social Innovation is the process of changes in social relations involving challenging, altering and/or replacing dominant institutions and structures which are considered to be the roots of systemic errors. This study sought to explore the Transformative Social Innovation tools from the perspective of the Strategic Sustainable Development (SSD). In this regard, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was adopted as it provides a principle-based and scientifically-proved definition of sustainability as well as a systems thinking approach regarding the complexity of global sustainability challenges. This research project tried to identify the potential contributions of the TSI tools to sustainability and the entry points of the tools where relevant SSD features could complement them so that they can contribute to strategically move the society towards sustainability. A qualitative research approach was selected. The methodology included four research methods, namely document content analysis, interviews, the FSSD analysis and prototyping. The results of this research indicated three main contributions of the TSI tools that could help to strategically move the society towards sustainability. Five entry points where the tools could be complemented with SSD features and a set of add-ins from SSD that could complement the current TSI tools were identified. The add-ins were sent to the TSI theory authors for the expert consultation.

What other means of influence exist in business other than economic? That is the question we set out to answer in regards to the fashion industry and the specific supply chain of cashmere. The cashmere industry has been described as complex, therefore the research has taken a complex adaptive systems approach to investigate how relationships between parts give rise to the collective behaviours of a system and how the system interacts and forms relationships with its environment.

This paper describes a qualitative case study research conducted to identify the potential influence that a small to medium enterprises can have on their supply chain actors to steer them towards sustainability. Looking specifically at the supply chain of one Scottish cashmere manufacturer within the luxury fashion industry we have assessed this company’s current reality to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development.

This paper aims to present enablers and barriers towards influence, their correlations and complexity when looking at sustainability. In addition it will provide prescriptive thoughts for SMEs to support internal and external transition through sustainable development towards a sustainable cashmere supply chain.

The general awareness of the sustainability challenge and the urgency to act is increasing. However, the actions being taken do not seem to be sufficient, nor the communication about sustainability effective enough, to ensure a sustainable future. For our research, we looked at the work of sustainability practitioners using a scientifically robust framework called the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). The research focuses on the interaction between the sustainability practitioner and the audience when communicating the FSSD. It is guided by its central inquiry, how the practice of storytelling can support sustainability practitioners in their work context. A literature review and a total of 13 interviews with sustainability and storytelling practitioners comprise the basis for this analysis. Based on our findings we map out the current practices of storytelling used by sustainability practitioners in the field and offer recommendations with the intention of enhancing this practice. Our research showed that sustainability practitioners practice and benefit from storytelling throughout their work in various ways. We consider this research with all its limitations as an awareness raiser and invitation to deepen the conversation and the exchange of experience and knowledge around the topic of storytelling for sustainability.

The scale of the sustainability crisis is mounting exponentially as human development pushes the socio-ecological system closer to its limits. 12 to 18 year olds, who are in a formative life stage, are critical stakeholders in the success of addressing this sustainability challenge. This study explores the role of nature camps as powerful platforms for empowering young people towards sustainability. It begins by creating a conceptual framework to identify, define and design youth empowerment towards sustainability (YES). This is then used to identify relevant current practices and activities in the field through qualitative interviews with nature camp practitioners. A focus group is held to trial the YES Framework and collect suggestions for designing camps. Through thematic analysis, five key themes are distilled which link outcomes of camps to addressing specific sustainability issues. The study concludes that nature camps already empower young people towards sustainability, though neither explicitly nor strategically. Based on these findings we see an excellent opportunity to bring together existing knowledge from the field, combined with the YES Framework, to support the creation of nature camps which can empower new generations of young people to engage in strategic sustainable development.